Spencer Haywood

INDIANAPOLIS -- As Kentucky coach John Calipari started to leave the Naismith Hall of Fame interview room Monday, he took one last question.

"Coach, what do you think of the four-year rule?" Spencer Haywood shouted.

"You screwed it up for us," Calipari answered.

Now the man who paved the way for underclassmen to enter the NBA draft and the coach who has thrived with today's top one-and-done players will be forever linked: Calipari and Haywood are among this year's 11-person class, with induction ceremonies at the hall to be held Sept. 10-12 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Related "Spencer Haywood" Articles

INDIANAPOLIS -- As Kentucky coach John Calipari started to leave the Naismith Hall of Fame interview room Monday, he took one last question.
"Coach, what do you think of the four-year rule?" Spencer Haywood shouted.
"You screwed it up for us,"...

Lonnie Lynn Sr., a star player on DuSable High School's basketball team in the 1960s who played briefly in the American Basketball Association, was for many years a counselor of at-risk youths in Denver.
"The man was just so serious about the youth of...

John Calipari never could have been a Hall of Famer on his own ability. "I never grabbed a rebound," he said. "I never scored a point. I never had an assist." But he's had some incredible players. And when he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial...

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Why not make Dikembe Mutombo's full name a little longer? You can now officially add Hall of Famer to one with the birthright of Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo. The native of the Congo was enshrined...

After Dikembe Mutombo wagged that index finger a few more times and Dick Bavetta hugged nearly everyone in sight, Jo Jo White slowly made his way to the podium. The former Boston Celtics star, once so indefatigable that he played 60 minutes in an NBA...

Former USC Coach George Raveling was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced Saturday.
Raveling was at USC from 1986 to 1994, taking the Trojans to two NCAA tournament appearances and earning national coach of the year recognition in...